Exercising Your Brain May Help Tinnitus Sufferers

Tinnitus is the presence of noise when no sound is present. This phantom noise can include buzzing, whining, and whistling and is thought to be a symptom of hearing loss. Though there is no cure for tinnitus, there are multiple stratgies for helping to decrease the severity of tinnitus symptoms. And now new research suggests increased activity in the frontal region of the brain may provide a coping mechanisms for people dealing with tinnitus.

The level of distress associated with tinnitus, no matter the severity of the condition, varies among people. Essentially, some people have an easier time coping with the disturbing presence of tinnitus symptoms. Fatima Husain of the University of Illinois speech and hearing science conducted research to determine why some people with tinnitus were better able to cope with the symptoms than others. Surprisingly, the study showed that people whose brains were more active in the frontal region and who used different pathways to process emotions had an easier time dealing with their tinnitus symptoms.

According to, MedicalNewsToday,"Patients with lower tinnitus distress used an altered pathway to process emotional information."

This is exciting news. Because the brain is malleable and increasing the activity of the frontal region is possible, this may lead to another technique or treatment to help people with tinnitus better cope with their symptoms. Though no research has been done to show that increasing the frontal lobe region will aid with tinnitus, it probably couldn't hurt. Blow is a website to help stimulate the frontal region of your brain and if you'd like something a little less active,here's a YouTube video that you can listen to that is said to increase frontal lobe activity.

Today's hearing aid technology also provides different features to help people with tinnitus. If you'd like to learn more, see your hearing health provider. If you need help finding a hearing health provider click HERE to be connected with the largest network of trusted hearing health professionals in the nation!